We had no more trouble with the Indians until we had crossed Green river.  We were now in the Ute country.  At this time the Utes were considered to be one of the most hostile tribes in the West.  That night Jim asked me what route I thought best to take, by the way of Salt Lake or Landers Cut Off.  I said, “Jim, Landers Cut Off is the shortest and safest route from the fact that the Indians are in the southern part of the territory at this time of year, and I do not believe we shall have much more trouble with them on this trip.”  Which proved to be true.  We saw no more Indians until we reached the Humbolt river.  Just above the Sink of Humbolt about the middle of the afternoon I saw quite a band of Indians heading directly for the train.  I signaled Jim to corral, which he did at once.

In a few moments they were upon us.  As we were out on an open prairie, we had a good sight of the Indians before they reached us; I saw by the leader’s dress that it was a chief that was leading them.  His head dress was composed of eagles’ feathers, and he rode some thirty or forty yards ahead of the other warriors.  When in gun shot of me I fired at him and brought him down.  When he fell from his horse the rest of the Indians wheeled their horses and fled, but the chief was the only one that fell.  As soon as they were gone I took the scalp off the dead chief’s head.  When we went into camp that evening, Jim told the emigrants what a great thing I had done in shooting the chief.  “There is no knowing how many lives he saved by that one shot in the right time.”

Then all the emigrants gathered around me to see the scalp of the Indian; they had never seen such a sight before; each of the young ladies wanted a quill from the Indian’s head dress; and they asked me what I would take for one of them; I told them the quills were not for sale.

At this time the lady who had invited Jim and me to eat with her so many times came up to us, and she said, “Girls, I can tell you how you can get these quills.”  They all asked at once, “How is that, aunty?”

“Each one of you give him a kiss for a quill,” she laughed, and of all the blushing I ever saw the young girls that surrounded me beat the record.  Jim grinned and said, “I’ll be dog goned if I don’t buy the scalp and the feathers and take all the kisses myself.”

This made a general laugh.  I told Jim that he was too selfish, and that I would not share the kisses with him, that I would give the scalp to him and the feathers to the elder lady, and she could divide the feathers among the girls.  The girls clapped their hands and shouted, “Good! good!”

Jim said that was just his luck, he was always left out in the cold.